Leadership hosts Junior Faculty Retreat

Stanford Surgery held a Junior Faculty Retreat on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. An event more than two years in the making, all assistant professors, regardless of professoriate line, were encouraged to attend. 

Vice Chair of Professional Development Dr. Sherry Wren had been in the process of planning a retreat in 2020 when it was waylaid indefinitely by COVID19. Unfortunately, the safety measures enacted during the pandemic further exasperated existing issues. Without in-person grand rounds or water cooler chats, new faculty were siloed, unable to meet people outside their surgical specialty. 

"COVID presented so many challenges to both newly recruited and existing faculty in the department," said Dr. Wren. "We were so excited to finally be able to connect in person and have people meet other faculty in the department, learn about resources, and understand the multifaceted aspects of careers, wellness, and professional development over their career."

Although Dr. Hawn referred to it as a "one-day" retreat, festivities kicked off the evening before with a BBQ dinner at Nealon Park in Menlo Park as an opportunity for the faculty and their families to connect. The real work began Friday morning. 

"One of the most important things I can do is make sure you know how much we value everything you do," said Dr. Hawn during her overview presentation of the departmental structure and academic finances. 

This was followed by a series of panels and breakout sessions on effective teaching, accelerating your research, and what you need for a promotion. 

"The culture of collaboration at Stanford is so tempting you can easily diffuse your impact," warned Vice Chair of Basic Research Dr. Olivia Martinez. "Think about the cost/benefit." 

The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Carrie Cunningham. Dr. Cunningham is an endocrine surgeon at Harvard Medical School as well as the current president of the Association of Academic Surgery. She spoke about the importance of societies when it comes to achieving the national reputation requirement for a promotion and movingly about setting boundaries and prioritizing wellness. 

The day wrapped up with a brainstorming session. Participants were asked to answer the question "How do we create a department that has community and best supports the career of junior faculty?" The group broke into smaller teams to come up with ideas and then came back together to present their findings. 

"We have several action items to better support the junior faculty, from enhancing their professional development funds, implementing additional programming focusing on their career development and creating leadership opportunities," said Dr. Hawn, who will be working on addressing these issues with Dr. Wren and the rest of the leadership team in the coming months. 

"It was so awesome to spend time together and elevate the voices of our junior faculty." said Dr. Hawn.